The potential fight between legendary Manny Pacquiao and Mario Barrios could be on the rocks, according to Barrios’ trainer Bob Santos.
Barrios, 29, of San Antonio, has a date with Abel Ramos for the WBC welterweight championship on the Mike Tyson-Jake Paul undercard at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on November 15.
As it stands, Santos thinks it’s unclear whether the Barrios-Pacquiao fight would happen due to the latter’s political engagement in the Philippines' senate.
“Manny Pacquiao wanted to fight Barrios and we wanted the fight but the fight couldn't be made in time because he's gonna be running for the senate again, I think, in January or February,” Santos told BoxingScene.
“So, [Pacquiao] has to take care of that, and we have to take care of Abel Ramos and then we'll see what the future holds after that.”
Barrios and eight-division champ Pacquiao were said to be negotiating a fight some months back with the Filipino great looking to come out of retirement at age 45. However, the negotiations failed to materialize and the fight fell through.
In his place, the 29-2 (18 KOs) Barrios is expected to face 33-year-old Ramos, who bears a record of 28-6-2 (22 KOs), for the WBC championship. Barrios has been out of the ring since earning a 12-round unanimous decision win over Fabian Andres Maidana five months ago.
The win over Maidana extended Barrios’ winning streak to three, securing him the WBC interim championship in the process. Prior to those wins, the San Antonio native had lost consecutively to Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis and Keith Thurman.
Santos anticipates a difficult fight for Barrios against Ramos.
“I know Abel Ramos very well and I've watched him against Omar Juarez. I’ve also watched him against Ugas. We know him very well. I know his trainer Jesus Ramos very well. I've seen him in the gym.
“I've seen him train. I've watched many of his fights. It's gonna be a tough fight. Obviously, we feel confident. We're gonna be victorious.”
The fight against Barrios could be a tall order for Ramos, who is under pressure to revive his career after just two wins in his last five bouts. Following consecutive losses to Luke Santamaria and Cody Crowley, Ramos returned to winning ways against Juan Ramon Guzman with a fifth-round stoppage victory in April.
When asked if Ramos possesses the ability to hurt Barrios, Santos said “I mean, like I said, anytime you go in against anybody, they’ve got two hands just like the other guy. So, they’ve got a punch chance like anybody. Right?
“So, you have to know that going in. That's why when everybody's talking about Tim Tszyu, oh, it's this, it's that, hey maybe it's just the case that you just got caught with one punch you didn't see coming, and that's boxing. That's what makes boxing a great sport.”
Bernard Neequaye is a sports journalist with a specialty in boxing coverage. He wrote a boxing column titled “From The Ringside” in his native Ghana for years. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter) at @BernardNeequaye, LinkedIn at Bernard Neequaye and through email at bernardneequaye@gmail.com.